Listening to audio content using a virtual-reality or augmented-reality head-mounted system may produce an immersive experience. By augmenting audio content with tactile sensory input (e.g., haptics) a listener may hear audio content and feel the audio content. Experiencing haptics while listening to audio content using a virtual-reality or augmented-reality system may improve the immersive experience.
Haptics is a tactile and/or force feedback technology that takes advantage of a user's sense of touch by applying haptic feedback effects (e.g., “haptic effects”), such as forces, vibrations, and motions, to the user. Devices, such as wearables, virtual-reality systems, augmented-reality systems, electronic devices, mobile devices, touchscreen devices, and personal computers, may be configured to generate haptic effects. Such devices may also play audio content, such as a digital audio signal. For example, such devices may include applications configured to play video content, such as a movie or video game, that contains an audio portion, or audio content, in addition to providing the haptic effects.
Virtual-reality or augmented-reality systems with haptic effects may enable users to travel through space and time, interact with friends in a three-dimensional world, or play video games in a radically redefined way. Virtual-reality or augmented-reality systems with haptic effects may also be used for purposes other than recreation—governments may use them for military training simulations, doctors may use them to practice surgery, and engineers may use them as visualization and audio aids.
In any use of a virtual-reality or augmented-reality system with haptic effects, making the experience as functional and pleasurable as possible for the user may be critical. However, delivering vibrotactile haptic effects at the same frequencies as corresponding audio content (e.g., playing the same waveform as audio and haptic content) may potentially interfere with a pleasurable experience for the user. For example, certain frequencies of the audio content, when provided as a haptic effect, may be perceived by the user to be a mismatch of the audio frequency, making the experience less compelling for the user.